Head valve for presses



Aug. 13, 1940.

F. scHAuM 2,21 1,389

HEAD VALVE` FOR PRESSES .Filed Jan. 27, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE' 2,211,389 HEAD VALVE FOR- PRESSES Fletcher' Schaum,

Fletcher Works, Philadelphia, Pa.,va corpora- Application January 27,

My invention relates tion of Pennsylvania 1 Claim.

to new and usefulimprovements in valves, and more particularly to what is known as a head Valve for use in steam DTGSSES.

In the present instance, the steam press is used for pressing clothes, which, as is well known,

consists of a pivotal head in which there is a live steam chamber, so that when the garment is placed on'the bucl; and the head forced downwardly on the buok, by a head Valve and through the garment and buck.

therefore, is subjected to the steam is liberated then drawn by a Vacuum The head Valve, long and hard usage and it is highly desirable to provide a Valve that will withstand this Constant usage and, at the same time, call One of the objects of the for little or no packing or repair.

present invention is of the packless type,

so that the steam is prevented from reaching the piston rod and the necessity of a packing joint or box for said rod is entirely eliminated.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rugged head Valve serted within the head of place by a simple look nut within the Valve body a that may be quickly inthe press and held in there being provided piston and so-called piston rod, the latter being enclosed within an expansible copper corrugated bellows, so that regardless of the amount of wear subjected to, there is no likelihood of steam that `the Valve escaplng around the piston rod.

Still another object of provide a head Valve that the invention is to is simple and efficient in action, presents no mechanical difculties in its manufacture, and calls for but little machine work.

With these and other objects in View, the invention consists in certain new and novel features and combination of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully explained and pointed out in the claim.

Referring now to the drawing showing a preferred embodiment,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view showopen position,

the dot-and-dash lines showing the position of the handle when the Valve is closed;

Fig. 2 is Valve with the piston rod a sectional view 'showing the head removed and showing the direction of the steam through the Valve,

the section being taken at Fig. 3 is a transverse se the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

right angles to Fig. 1; ctional view taken on Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to 1939, 'Serial No. 253,218

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line f-. of Fig. 12; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view 5-,-5 of Fig. 2.

Referring now more in views, and for the moment to Fig. 1, there is shown a fragmentar-y portion of the head l of a steam clothes press, in which there may be seen the live steam chamber 2 and likewise the chamber 3, into which rnitted, so that it may pass through perforations ii in the under surface of the head and then through a padding and its sheet or cover 6, where it Will then be drawn through the garment (not shown) into A bafiie plate l is provided within the chamber lso that the steam on entering the chamber 3 will be delected horizontally along the chamber before passing through the various openings f.

taken on the line The head -l of the press is provided with the 20 dorne-shaped portion 8, centrally of which is the plane opening 9 to receive the head Valve, shortly to be described, and likewise in the lower wall lil of the live steam chamber, 'there is the'threadcd opening H, into Which is screwed the lower 25 inerge with the slightly smaller passageways Il, 35

while extending transversely of the central portion iii of the Valve are the ports or inlet openings EQ, which connect with the small central bore 2%, which is open at its top, as at Ei.

The upper portion of the body provided with the large central bore or cylinder 22, in which travels the piston 23, in the under surface of which is the fiber disk 26, which is to seat on the upper end of the central portion IS to 'thus open or close the Valve and permit the steam to pass down the passageways I'i and it into the chamber 3 of the head of the press.

The piston 23 is also centrally bored, as at 25, to receive a base or nut 26 (Fig. 1), in which is threaded the rod 21, which latter extends through the head sleeve 28. Extending between the head sleeve 28 and the nut 26 is the corrugated copper bellows 29, which is capable of expansion and contraction and forms a seal-Y tight joint between the nut 26 and the head detail to the several 5 the steam is to be ad- 10 the buck (not shown). l15

at IS; like- 30 l2 (Fig. 2) is 40 sleeve 28, so that steam can never pass about the rod 21 and leak out around the rod 21 where it passes through the head sleeve 28. This bellows type of packing is a Conventional one.

To lock the valve in place, there is shown the lock nut 35), which may bear against a washer 3l, as seen in Fig. 1, so that no steam can escape from the live steam chamber about the receptive opening of the valve. There is also shown an integral nut 32 on the body of the Valve just above the threaded portion 14 for conveniently inserting or removing the valve in the head.

About the top of the body portion of the Valve, that is, at the zone of the internal threads 15, may be seen a collar 33 with its hook 34 for the receptive end of a spring 35, which spring is also fastened at its opposite end to the bolt 36, on which fits the nut 31. Thus, the tension on the spring may at all times be regulated by the manipulation of the nut. The bolt 36 passes through the outer end of the handle 38, which is pivoted, as at 39, to a bracket 3321, while from this handle extends the aforementioned rod 21, which is connected to the handle by the clevs and pin 40. Also, stop means are provided for limiting the downward movement of the handle, as may be seen From Fig. 1.

Threaded within the upper end of the body |2 is the head 4l, which is provided with the threaded cap 42, which, in turn, is drawn down tightly over the aforementioned sleeve 28, while through the sleeve and cap, of course, extends the aforementioned piston rod 21.

It will be noticed that the spring 35 will normally pull the outer end of the handle downwardly and likewise normally hold the piston 23 on its seat, so that the live steam, although entering the passageway or bore 20, cannot escape into the ports H and 16 until the piston is elevated or opened. However, on a downward pressure by the operator on the handle 38, the piston, through the piston rod, will be elevated and removed from its seat, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, thus permitting the steam to pass from the bore 20 into the passageways l1 and IB down to the chamber 3 and out through the aforementloned perforations 4.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that there is no possibility of the steam leaking past the only movable part, the piston rod (exclusive of the piston), as the corrugated bellows prevents the steam from reaching the piston rod, and regardless of how much the Opening in the sleeve 28 wears or regardless of how much the piston rod wears, the Operation of the Valve will in no way be affected.

If the washer 3l ever wears, the lock nut may be quickly loosened and the valve removed and a new washer placecl in position. Also, as heretofore mentioned, the body of the Valve is one that may be readily cast while the machine work for the piston and central parts of the Valve has been reduced to a minimum.

I have found that a valve of this type will give eflicent and continual service without necessitating any repairs.

Finally, by simply unscrewing the head, it is the matter of a moment to slip out the piston and renew the Valve disk when the same becomes worn.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A head valve including a body, said body having inlet and outlet ports, a piston. for opening and closing the ports, said piston having a centrally located chamber in its upper portion, a piston rod within the Valve body, a head on said Valve body through bellows enclosing said piston rod and fitting within said sleeve, a member secured to the bottom of the piston rod and fitting within the chamber in said piston and the bellows also fitting within said member so that the piston rod is entirely enclosed to thus prevent the steam from reaching the same, and a cap on said head and pressing on said sleeve to thereby hold the same in a seal-tight condition.

FLETCHER SCHAUM.

which said piston rod also f operates, a sleeve in said head and a steam-tight 

